


Spin Me 'Round

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Bartender Jo Harvelle, F/F, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Teacher Anna Milton, spnfemminibang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 17:25:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2237358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kindergarten teacher Anna Milton decides to move North after a difficult break-up to try to escape her past and find somewhere to settle down and start a life.</p>
<p>Local bartender Jo Harvelle has always wanted to leave her small town to travel the world but was never able to. </p>
<p>The two meet and bond over take-away coffee and pie, but when their friendship develops into something else, Anna worries that she can’t get over the scars of her past relationship. As the cold Winter sets in, the two will find themselves questioning what - and who - they really want.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spin Me 'Round

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the spnfemminibang  
> Art by the wonderful belaharvelle on tumblr!

 

There’s a moment of doubt as she steps off the plane.

Maybe this wasn’t the right decision; maybe she should have stayed home in Illinois and used her teaching degree there. But Anna hated the teaching styles used back home with the large groups of kids – like everyone was a machine off the rack. She’d travelled up North to find a small town in need of a teacher, and just as she thought her luck was running out, she got a call from an old university friend. He’d said there was a position open and they were looking for a kindergarten teacher.

Dean was greeting her at the airport. When he saw her, he pulled her into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground.

“Long time, no see!” he said loudly, mouth directly at her ear. She laughed.

“It’s good to see you, as well, Dean. What have you been up to?”

He shrugged, grabbing one of her bags, and they started to leave the airport. “I work at a coffee shop,” he admitted. “Got myself a hot date.” He grinned at her wolfishly and she rolled her eyes.

“You’re incorrigible. Who are you leaving with a broken heart this time?” Anna was mostly teasing, but she remembered his reputation from university. She knew from what little correspondence they had that after he’d bailed and moved to Canada, he’d cleaned up his act, so she hoped that he wasn’t reverting to meaningless relationships.

Dean blushed. Dean Winchester, who had a different person on his arm every day of the week, _blushed_. Anna was fairly certain she’d never seen that particular expression on his face before, but he hid it from her quick. “His name’s Cas,” he admitted. “Castiel. Crazy angel name, like your folks. He’s a librarian.”

Anna felt her eyebrows raise. “A librarian, Dean? Really? I didn’t think ‘quiet and bookish’ was your type.”

He shoved her shoulder playfully as they reached his car, and then he want to unlock the trunk and hauled her bags into it. “He’s not my usual type,” he conceded, “but it doesn’t matter. You’ll like him.”

Anna made a humming noise in the back of her throat as she got into the passenger side of Dean’s beloved Impala. Some things never changed. “I’m sure I will.”

 

***

 

Anna was staying in an apartment building in the residential area of the small town. It wasn’t very tall, and only had two apartments on each floor. There was a grand total of ten apartments, and Anna was in 5B. There was no buzzer for the building, and anyone could walk in off the street without knowing a resident.

It made her slightly uncomfortable, but she knew from Dean that this was the kind of place where people didn’t lock their doors at night. She didn’t know if that calmed her fears or not, but she’d take it.

The apartment was sizeable, and the bulk of her furniture was already there from when she’d been up a month earlier to move it. Really, all that she had left were the clothes in her suitcases to unpack.

Dean refused to help with that, stating that he needed to get back to work before anyone missed him. She berated him for being lazy, and then he was gone. She set out the kitchen, stashing cups and plates in all their right places, and put all her clothes in the closet and dresser. She’d promised to meet Dean at the Roadhouse for dinner; he’d pointed the building out to her on their way into town. Her only hurdle would be finding a ride.

 

***

 

The woman who owned the building, Missouri Mosely, lived in 1A and never used her car. She loaned it to Anna for the night, fixing her with a stare and telling her to bring it back in the same condition it left in. Feeling slightly frightened, Anna reluctantly took the keys and drove into town, parking in front of the bar and grill with the neon sign.

She pondered on the necessity of the sign, seeing as there were very few buildings clustered together as a sort of ‘main street’. And in such a small town, she pondered on the necessity of any signage at all. It was helpful to her as a newcomer, but she doubted many people moved here for the hell of it. It seemed like the kind of place you got stuck in.

Walking into the Roadhouse, she was greeted by the familiar hustle and bustle of every single bar and grill she’d ever visited. Feeling more comfortable now that she was in an environment she recognized, she started to look around for Dean, who ended up being near the back at a small table. He was alone and playing on his phone so she walked over and took the seat across from him silently. He continued playing for a few minutes before she cleared her throat and he jumped in his seat, looking up and scowling at her.

“You made me die in Flappy Bird,” he accused.

Anna rolled her eyes. “I bet you give that game more attention than you give your boyfriend.”

“I’ll have you know, Cas is the one who introduced me to this app.”

“And that makes it better?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dean shrugged. “Kinda.” He set down his phone and picked up the menu that was sitting on the table under his elbows. “I already know what I want,” he informed her, eyes skimming down the list. He handed her the laminated sheet. “Try one of the burgers. Ellen is a magician.”

Anna read down the list to find that it was mostly burgers. It was all bar food, which was understandable considering that it was primarily a bar, but since she trusted Dean’s judgement as far as burgers went, she decided on a simple cheeseburger. She relayed that choice to Dean and he got up from the table, taking the menu with him before going up to the bar. She watched as he leaned forwards and spoke to the bartender, a pretty blonde girl who looked to be about Anna’s age. The girl nodded to what Dean had said and then turned to the kitchen window and said something to the woman who could be seen working there.

He returned to the table with a grin. “That was Jo,” he told her, as if it would mean something.

Anna nodded. “She’s… attractive,” she commented with a neutral expression, because she figured that that was what Dean wanted her to say.

Dean grinned, proving to her that she’d been correct in her assumption. “You’d like her,” he said matter-of-factually.

“I’m sure she’s wonderful.” Anna glanced over at the girl in question and saw her laughing loudly at something one of the patrons said. The girl, Jo, was very pretty, it was true, but Anna tended towards quieter people. She appreciated thoughtfulness, and preferred staying in to going out. Regardless of whether or not she was Anna’s type, the school teacher wasn’t looking for a relationship in the small town. Not right away; not with the memories of Ruby still fresh in her mind.

“She’s like a little sister to me,” Dean continued. He fixed her with a mock-serious expression. “So you two had better get along.”

Anna smiled. “I’ll play nice,” she promised.

Just then, the bartender came over with their meals. She wore the wide smile of serving staff, though more genuine. It reached her eyes and showed her teeth. She set down their plates and looked at Dean sternly when he dug in right away. He looked up at her guiltily and put down his burger, swallowing the bite already in his mouth and looking sheepish.

“So?” she asked. “Are you going to introduce us?” She gestured vaguely towards Anna.

The redhead smiled and reached a hand towards the other girl. “I’m Anna,” she said.

Her hand was accepted and given a good, firm shake. “Jo,” was the simple response, her smile widening ever so slightly.

Anna dropped her hand with a smile. “Good to know. I don’t know what Dean’s told you, but I’m the new kindergarten teacher at the elementary school.”

Jo nodded. “Yeah, I know. Like the rugrats, I take it?”

“Most days,” she joked. “It’s not as hard as most people think.”

“I’ll take your word for it, ‘kay?” Jo said with a laugh.

Anna responded to the laugh with one of her own. “Okay. See you around?”

Jo smiled at her. “Yeah; see you around.” She made a small salute with two fingers, turned around, and walked away. Anna watched her for a second and then turned back to her food, taking a bite out of her burger. It smeared on her face slightly and she put it down with a laugh, picking up the napkin and whipping her face.

“Good, eh?” Dean asked expectantly.

Anna grinned and rolled her eyes. “You’ve been Canadianized.”

 

***

 

She got back to her new apartment at around eleven that night, and fell asleep easily with the jetlag still weighing on her body like a constant, background ache.

The tenant of 5A returned home at two in the morning and decided that that was a good time to put on some Led Zepplin. She groaned and put her pillow over her head to try and drown out the noise, but she couldn’t fall back asleep until the music shut off, around an hour later.

The first thing she did the next morning, when she finally woke up at a normal time, was write the early morning musical enthusiast a note on a post-it, and stuck it to the door of 5A.

_Hi, I’m your neighbour. I am very familiar with the works of the band Led Zepplin, however I do not need to learn to appreciate them at 2AM. Please refrain._

***

Anna didn’t have much to do, since the school year started in three days and until then she didn’t have anything to occupy her days with. So she went on a few errands, making sure her kitchen was stocked first and foremost. When she returned with her groceries, she noticed a blue post-it on her door, slightly below her own eye level.

_Sorry; didn’t know you’d moved in yet. Can’t promise it won’t happen again, but I’ll try not to play it so loud._

_P.S. If you’re familiar with them, what’s your favourite song?_

Anna couldn’t help the small smile on her face when she read that, and she unlocked her apartment door as she took the note off the wood. She hauled her groceries in and left the note on the counter, momentarily forgotten.

 

***

 

She forgot to reply until the next morning, scrawling it quickly before going out to breakfast; she’d promised Dean that she’d go to the coffee shop and try one of his muffins.

_I don’t know the names of their songs; I’m friends with a fan. They’re not my type._

She leaves the confession on 5A’s solid oak door and heads out to breakfast.

 

***

 

Dean gave her coffee ‘on the house’ but made her pay for the red velvet muffin, which was really more of a cupcake since it was filled with a delicious cream cheese icing and made of red velvet cake batter.

She made a nearly obscene noise after her first bite and Dean threw an oven mitt at her head. She caught it easily in one hand without looking, a skill learnt from her time being a student teacher for classes of young children, and tossed it back at him. Dean was about to say something to her when a dark haired man walked in the door.

“Are you being mean to your customers again, Dean?” the unknown man asked in a teasing tone.

Both Anna and Dean turned to look at him at the same time, startled from their little game. The stranger looked past Anna and met Dean’s eyes, giving him a small smile.

“This is Anna,” Dean said after a moment. “Anna, meet Cas. And no, I’m not being mean to her; being in the same university as her for three years earned me the right to throwing mittens at her head. And I didn’t even hit her.”

Cas shook his head at Dean’s statement, a smile on his lips, and walked over to Anna to shake her hand firmly. “I work at the library across the street,” he told her with a smile.

She returned his grin. “I’m the new kindergarten teacher.”

“A respectable profession. I wish you luck.” He had a blank expression, but there was a friendly light in his eyes that told her he really did wish her luck.

“Everyone says that,” she remarked, taking a sip of her coffee. “Are the children here really that difficult?”

“That one is,” Dean said, and Anna was confused for a minute until he lobbed his oven mitt at the back of a teens’ head, who was sitting at a table, hunched over books and facing away from Dean.

The teen looked back, angry, and rubbed the back of his head lightly. “You’re the worst,” he muttered, picking up the mitten and getting out of his chair. He walked up to the counter and whipped the mitten right at Dean, who only narrowly avoided being hit in the head by an impressive display of flailing limbs.

After finishing his death glare directed at Dean, the teen looked at Anna. “I’m Kevin.” He just nodded at her instead of giving her his hand.

She introduced herself in turn, unsure what she was supposed to think of him. He was dressed in clothes that looked slept in, and had scruff along the lower half of his face.

“Believe it or not, this is the smartest kid you’ll ever meet,” Dean informed her. Kevin just shrugged at the comment and went back to his books.

 

***

 

There was a note on Anna’s door when she returned home. It was a red post-it, shaped like a star.

_If Zepplin’s not your type, what is?_

Since there was room enough for her answer underneath that she quickly wrote,

_‘Indie shit’, as I’m told._

She then carefully stuck the note to the triangle of the ‘A’ on her neighbours’ door.

 

***

 

The last day before her class started was spent watching television. She only got three channels on her ancient TV, but one of them was the Discovery channel, and she enjoyed watching animals graze on African planes. She didn’t so much enjoy when they got brutally mauled by larger predators, but it _was_ the circle of life, after all, so she could deal with it.

The other two channels she got where the Aquarium Channel, and some kids network. Watching animals in their battle of ‘survival of the fittest’ was the clear winner, at least to Anna.

Just after noon there was a knock on her door, but when she opened it there was no one there – just a blue, round post-it in the top bubble of the ‘B’ on her door.

_I can hear animals killing each other through your door. Loud Zepplin at 2AM is better than this._

Anna grabbed one of her own post-it notes, boring and square and yellow, and scrawled an apology that she tacked to the other door.

 

***

 

She went to the Roadhouse and ordered a drink after her first day on the job. There were only seven children in her class, and they were all little angels… until they got their hands on the glitter glue, which she’d brought so they could make name tags for their desks.

It was the twins, Meg and Rachel, that were the worst. They acted divine to her face, but as soon as she turned her back and sat down to help one of the other kids with their nametag (‘Samandriel’ was a cruel name to saddle a child with, and they ended up just writing ‘Sam’), there was purpled glitter in her hair.

Anna rested her face in her hands for just a moment, but was startled by a familiar voice.

“You look fabulous,” Jo remarked with a smirk. “What can I get for you? Beer, or do you need a shot of the good stuff?”

The teacher laughed. “If I have ‘the hard stuff’ I’ll be hungover for days. I’m a lightweight, and unashamed. Just a beer, thanks. I don’t know brands; just give me your favourite.”

Jo raised an eyebrow. “You gonna trust me on this?”

Anna shrugged. “What do I have to lose? I trust you not to give me tequila in a brown bottle.”

“Then you clearly don’t know me well enough yet,” Jo said with a laugh, setting a bottle in front of her and popping off the cap with practised ease.

Anna reached for it gratefully and took a swig, grimacing as always at that first bitter taste. Once it hit her blood, it would be easier. She smiled at Jo. “Not yet.”

 

***

 

It was an hour before Anna looked at her watch, and made slightly exaggerated bug-eyes at the hands. “Whoa,” she murmured. “It’s late.” She pushed herself off the stool and stood up, wobbling slightly.

Jo laughed at her. “Do you need a ride home?” she asked. “I can take a break and give you one.”

Anna shook her head, once and then twice and then another time just because. “No.” She repeated herself. “No; I’ll go…. I’ll go bug Dean.” She blinked. “I have to teach children in the morning.”

The blonde covered her mouth with her hand, but couldn’t quite hide her smile, causing Anna to scowl at her. “Want me to walk you over to the shop to find him?” she asked.

“Maybe….” Anna’s voice trailed off and she licked her lips before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, probably a good idea.”

Jo shook her head and laughed again. She turned towards the back window. “Hey, mom! I’m gonna be right back. Lightweight here needs help finding a ride.” Jo turned back to Anna. “I’ll be back in a second. Don’t move.” She disappeared into a door behind the bar and reappeared with a jacket slung over one shoulder. She pushed her way out from behind the counter and slipped her jacket on before slinging and arm around Anna’s waist.

Anna leaned into the touch with a small noise but otherwise didn’t react, and Jo led her out of the bar “You’re really pretty,” she said, leaning her head against Jo’s shoulder.

Jo continued looking forwards, and a chuckle reverberated in her chest. “You’re drunk,” she said, and if that statement hadn’t been true then maybe Anna would have noticed the redness colouring the other girls’ cheeks. “Let’s get you in bed, okay?”

Anna made a non-committal noise in the back of her throat and continued to stumble along, following the guidelines set out by the slightly shorter girl, who had to shift their positioning slightly to push open the door to the café.

Dean looked up when they walked in and took in the sight of the two girls before laughing. “That’s what you get for not cutting her off after half a beer,” he teased.

The bartender rolled her eyes. “I’ve learnt my lesson. Can you take her home? Or give her coffee so she can drive herself?” She led Anna to a table and sat her down, standing up next to her chair.

“Sure thing.” Dean walked out from behind the counter and placed a cup of black coffee in front of Anna. “Drink. You don’t wanna deal with kindergarteners hungover.”

Anna groaned just at the thought, memories of their tiny, high pitched voices ringing in her ears, and picked up the coffee. She drunk it down gratefully.

Over her head, Dean looked at Jo. “I can keep her here for a bit, just until she’s sober enough to drive home, okay? You need to go back and help Ellen with the crowed.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jo nodded. She took her notepad out of her small apron and jotted down something quickly. She put the folded paper in Anna’s hand and looked her in the eye. “That’s my number. Text me when you get home safe, got it?”

Anna nodded and put the number in her pocket before taking another sip of her coffee. She looked up at Jo and smiled. “Thank you.”

Jo smiled back. “No problem. Just don’t die, alright?”

“I’ll make sure of that,” Dean said, taking hold of Jo’s arm and steering her towards the door of the café. When they reached the door, he paused to tell her something with a serious expression on his face, and she nodded back to signify that she understood.

Anna wished that she could hear what they were saying.

 

***

 

She got home by midnight and crashed, hard. She didn’t wake up until her alarm went off at seven the next morning, and luckily her hangover wasn’t as bad as it could have been, thanks to the free coffee Dean had given her. She could still taste its bitterness in her mouth as she stumbled out of bed to her bathroom to brush her teeth, take some Tylenol, and shower.

She found a scrap of note paper in her jean pockets with hastily scribbled numbers on it and remembered that she’d forgotten to text Jo the night before. There was something familiar about the handwriting, but Anna couldn’t place what it was, so she fired off a quick text with an apology for having forgotten and then stowed her phone in her pocket. She tossed the note paper in the waste basket as she left.

 

***

 

The first child in class the next morning was little Bela. She was close friends with the twins, and though she was cute as a button she kept swiping the other kids’ paints for no obvious reason. Next was Samandriel and Andy, who got on like a house on fire and immediately started playing with the trucks on the road-map carpet. Then the twins, hand in hand, followed by a quiet girl named Ava. The final child was a young boy named Adam, who was a little unsure of himself though tried very hard to play with the other kids.

They were only half-day students because of how young they were, so she only had to have half a day of activities. There was finger-painting and reading, snack time and play time.

Throughout the day, there were only a few moments when she understood what people meant when they gave her a sympathetic look upon learning what age level she taught. Otherwise, she actually, genuinely enjoyed working with the children.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t grateful when twelve-thirty rolled around and Adam’s mother finally came to pick up her son. Her shifts at the hospital made it hard to come get him at the right time, and Anna was already looking into afternoon daycares to suggest to her, just to make her life easier.

Anna had just started cleaning up when there was a knock at the door. Fearing that it was a parent, and she’d let a child go home with a stranger, she turned slowly, only to see through the window that it was Jo. The blonde held up a tray with two to-go coffee cups in one hand and a paper bag in the other.

Anna laughed and unlocked the door, ushering her in. “I’m still cleaning up, but make yourself at home.” She gestured at the teeny-tiny chairs around the equally small table.

Jo took one look at them and went to sit at Anna’s desk chair. “I brought you pie; I deserve some respect,” she announced.

“Just don’t put your feet up. I have a reputation to uphold,” Anna warned.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. “It’s been two days. What kind of reputation could you have already?”

“I just don’t want to get a bad one, okay?”

Jo shrugged and decided to change the subject. “I don’t know how you take your coffee, so it’s just black. Dean gave me some of those little milkers and sugar packets because I wouldn’t let him make it for you. I wouldn’t put it past him to mess it up.”

Anna nodded; the logic was sound. “He does know what I like, but you’re right; he’s not trustworthy.” She walked over and pointed at one of the cups. Jo nodded so she removed the top and dumped a few sugars into it followed by about half of one of the milkers. She stirred it with the brown stick and then popped the cap back on before removing it from the cardboard tray. Anna breathed in the familiar scent, eyes fluttering slightly closed, before taking a sip.

Her eyes snapped open when Jo made a snorting noise. She raised an eyebrow, cup still resting against her bottom lip, and waiting for Jo to explain herself. “You look like you’re having a religious experience over there.”

“I grew up in a deeply Christian family,” Anna said. “We prayed every day, went to Church every Sunday and on Holidays. I know what a ‘religious experience’ is like.” She nodded at her cup. “Coffee is better.”

Jo laughed. “You and Cas would get along really well,” she said.

Anna finished the last of her classroom cleanup quickly and quietly, then looked up at Jo. “Wanna go eat somewhere else?”

“We can eat at the park,” Jo suggested, nodding outside. Anna agreed and they walked out of the classroom and out into the open world. They sat at the picnic table just off to the side of the frankly sad, wooden play structure. Anna thought that it might have been older than she was.

Jo set the paper bag down and took out the plastic wrapped piece of pie, set it on a paper plate, and took out two forks and two knives. She unwrapped the pie carefully and handed one set of cutlery to Anna. “You first.”

Anna took a bite and couldn’t stop the obscene noise that she made. “I don’t think I’ve ever had chocolate pie before,” she admitted.

Jo adopted an expression similar to the one Anna thought that Dean would put on in this situation. She, however, schooled herself more quickly. “You’re lucky, then; my mom makes the best chocolate pie in the Northern Hemisphere,” she boasted.

Anna raised an eyebrow and went to cut herself another bite. “I’m skeptical. I’ll have to eat more pie to make that decision.”

Her hands where swatted away and Jo cut herself a bite, popping it into her mouth. “We take turns. That’s how this has to work. Geeze.”

“What made you come by today?” Anna asked, taking another bite of the pie. She followed it with a swig of her coffee.

Jo shrugged. “You were pretty drunk last night; figured you might need a pick me up after dealing with a bunch of toddling terrors.” She took a bite of the pie.

Anna shrugged and took a bite. “They’re not too bad,” she defended, sipping her coffee.

Her comment earned her a raised eyebrow. “I know the twins are in your class. How have you been dealing with them?”

“I just hope I can get them to settle down by the end of the year,” Anna admitted. “They’re difficult, but… not hopeless.”

“But really friggin’ difficult, yeah?” Jo asked. “I babysat them when they were newborns; they were bad even then.”

Anna looked at the last bite of pie on the plate. It was her turn, but she looked up at Jo. “Should we split it?”

Jo shook her head. “Nah, this is the fair way. Anyway, this was your initiation into real pie. You earned it.”

The teacher smiled and scooped up the piece, popping it in her mouth.

Together, the girls cleaned up and started towards the parking lot. Their pace was slow and leisurely while the sun still hung high in the sky, warming their bodies. They ended up standing just in front of their cars, which were parked next to one another.

“Are you gonna come to the Roadhouse tonight?” Jo asked.

Anna shook her head. “No. I don’t want to repeat last night so soon. Friday or Saturday, I will.”

Jo nodded. “Well, I’ll see you around, I guess,” she said awkwardly, taking a step towards her pick-up truck. “Text me, okay? And don’t forget this time.” She smiled teasingly.

Anna returned the grin. “Okay. See you.”

Jo got into her car, waved, and then drove off. Anna followed suit.

 

***

***

 

She was woken up again early that morning by music, though this time the selection was REO Speedwagon.

_Bad break-up?_

She stuck the simple message on the neighbour’s door. In the morning, there was no response. But she saw one when she got home after school – a red speech bubble.

_More like a new beginning_.

Anna smiled for her neighbour. She wished, for the first time, that she’d actually bothered to learn who lived on the other side of the door.

 

***

 

The next week brought with it an easy routine – Jo would bring Anna coffee after class, and on Fridays and Saturdays she drank lite beer at the Roadhouse. It also brought a heat wave of nearly unheard of proportions during that time of the year. Which was only 20C, so Anna was still in her thick sweaters and jeans and keeping the heat on.

Jo, however, started showing up in shorts and light blouses, with her long hair whipped up into a sloppy pony-tail.

“You’re gonna overheat,” she stated one afternoon, sipping on an iced coffee. She’d switched beverages as soon as the sun had come out.

Anna raised an eyebrow and sipped at her steaming-hot coffee. “You’re all crazy. How much colder does it get here? I don’t think I’m prepared.”

“It can go to about negative thirty in January,” Jo told her. “Don’t worry; I’ll take you coat shopping this weekend. Road trip?”

Anna raised an eyebrow. It was only Wednesday, though, so it wasn’t like she had any other plans. Or other friends to make plans with. “What would the plan be?” she asked. “Drive down Saturday morning and back in the evening?” She thought about the two hour drive to the nearest big mall and almost shuddered just thinking about doing that twice in one day.

Jo shook her head. “What? No. I’m not insane. I’ll come pick you up on Saturday morning, we’ll get a hotel room, and then drive home on Sunday. What do you think?”

Anna considered it and then shrugged. “Sounds fun. Let’s do it.”

 

***

 

_If you have more blankets, sacrifice them to me._

That was the note that Anna left on her neighbours door as soon as she got home. The AC in the building was cranked up to fight the heat that everyone but her was feeling, so she was resorting to a blanket fort on her living room floor in front of the TV.

Regretfully, it was a few hours before there was a knock on her door, and she opened it to find a stack of neatly folded blankets and a purple star sticky note on top.

_Give them back before midnight. I need them to sleep._

Anna left a simple note ( _You smell nice_ ) on the blankets when she piled them in front of 5A before bed, and fell asleep. When she woke up, she found her sticky note on her door with a quick ‘ _So do you_ ’ scrawled underneath her message. She went to school with a smile on her face, wondering who was behind the pen.

 

***

 

“Led Zepplin?” Anna asked, raising an eyebrow at Jo as they sipped their coffees on the picnic bench that day. Jo had rolled down her trucks windows, put in a tape, and blared it over the speakers.

Jo shrugged. “Dean gave me the tape. Gotta say, I appreciate it.”

“Can you even tell what he’s saying half the time?”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “I’m betting you listen to soft rock, don’t you?”

Anna bit her lip, wishing she could refute the assumption. “Am I that easy?”

“Kindergarten teacher who wears pastel blouses and mom jeans? I’d guess Elvis, first off. The red hair says you had or have a rebellious streak, though, so yeah. Soft rock.”

The teacher scoffed and pretended to be offended. “I do not wear ‘mom jeans’,” she protested.

Jo looked her up and down slowly with a raised eyebrow, even though she couldn’t see Anna’s pants under the table. “Yeah, you kinda do. It’s okay, though; they make your butt look good.”

Anna blushed and ducked her head. “Thanks. I think.”

Under the table, Jo bumped her foot against Anna’s. “It’s a compliment; take it. Don’t be so….” She made a vague gesture with her hand. “You about it.”

That made Anna roll her eyes. “You’re not very good at compliment people, I hope you realize.”

“Shut up,” Jo murmured without any malice in her tone, not looking at Anna and aiming a swift but light kick to her shin.

Anna pulled her legs up onto the bench with her so that she was sitting cross legged. She stuck her tongue out childishly at Jo, making the other woman giggle. “Can’t get me now,” she proclaimed.

Jo smirked. “I can try.”

 

***

 

That night was the first time she questioned her own motives towards Jo. She thought the girl was pretty, that was true, but was there anything else? They were friends. Maybe she was confusing friendship with romantic love again; it was known to happen.

So Anna did what she’d always fallen back on in these situations. She called Dean.

The phone rang and then a groggy voice picked up. “What do you want?” the voice asked bitterly.

Anna curled up on her couch with the phone. “Dean,” she said, voice soft and almost worried. “I think I might like Jo.”

“You’ve hung out with her like every day since you got here,” Dean said, “and you two have plans to go shopping together. I hope you like her.”

The redhead sighed into the phone, a gust of air through the receiver. “I don’t mean it like that, Dean. I mean I _like_ her.”

“Oh… kay?” Dean seemed confused. “I don’t think I’m pickin’ up what you’re puttin’ down.”

“I…,” she paused. “Like. Jo.”

Dean was silent for a second and Anna thought that maybe he wouldn’t be okay with this. But when he said, “Yeah, I still don’t get it,” she remembered that Dean Winchester was a very smart man, but not when he’d just woke up.

Anna sighed and when she started to speak, it was with the clearest pronunciation she could pull together and in a tone slightly louder than was called for. “I think I want to kiss her.”

“Oh,” he said. And then again. “Oh.” She began to worry, when that was his only reaction, but then he started laughing. “I just got off the phone with her saying the same thing about you,” he admitted. “Wait, shit, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t say that – you didn’t hear me say that.”

“But, Dean, you’re not listening to me,” Anna complained. “I don’t know what I want here. You know things with Ruby didn’t end well – I don’t know if I’m ready for anything serious yet. And I enjoy Jo’s company. I don’t want to lose that.”

She heard Dean sigh and shift in the sheets. “Yeah, I know. And I get it – I do. But that was what? Six months ago? If you hold on to it much longer, you’ll never get over it. And Jo’s a big girl – if you guys do the horizontal tango and it doesn’t pan out, she can be mature about it. And you can, too, I hope.”

There was silence on the line for a few beats and then Anna said, slowly, “Thanks. I think. Go back to sleep.”

“Already on it.” The line clicked dead, and Anna was left alone, huddled on her sofa and clutching her phone. It was a mirror, too closely, of a position she’d been in all too recently under much more unfortunate circumstances. She tried not to think about it as she unfolded herself and got ready for bed.

 

***

 

When she left her apartment that morning, a blue, circular post-it note fluttered to the ground. Her travel mug in one hand and her bag hanging on her other arm, she had to bend awkwardly to pick it up.

_Who do you want to kiss?_

Anna felt a blush rise in her cheeks; her neighbour had heard. She wondered just how much they’d heard, and decided that she’d rather not know.

 

The next day, when she saw Jo, it was… awkward. She didn’t know if Dean had been telling her the truth, and even then he might have _thought_ it was the truth, when it really wasn’t. It was a gamble, with him, especially when he was sleepy.

And it might have been her imagination, but Anna could have sworn that Jo was as sheepish as she was.

Everything was back to normal the next day, though Anna was still left with the question. Had Dean told her everything?

 

***

 

Saturday morning, they met at the park by the school. Anna put her overnight bag in Jo’s backseat, resting it against Jo’s own green canvas bag, and they were off.

“It’s about two hours to get into town,” Jo explained, fiddling with the radio before they got onto the highway. She looked up and gave Anna a quick grin. “Wanna play twenty questions?”

Anna laughed. “I had enough of that in high school. And don’t follow up with ‘truth or dare’.”

“Drat; and that’s my favourite, too,” the girl joked, smiling at Anna like they were sharing a secret. And maybe they were; Anna wasn’t sure.

“Well, then, you’re out of luck. We could just… talk. If you want,” Anna suggested. “I’ve known you for three weeks and I barely know anything about you. Tell me something about yourself that I don’t already know.”

Jo turned back to the road, music playing softly through the truck now, and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “I went to college for a year,” she admitted. “It didn’t work for me, so now I’m back here.”

“Why didn’t it work?” Anna asked, turned in her seat so she could watch Jo carefully.

The bartender shifted uncomfortably under the attention. She tried for a nonchalant shrug and failed, falling just the wrong side of awkward and stilted. “I dunno; just didn’t. I travelled around for a bit after I dropped out, but I never really found somewhere I fit. I just kept ending up behind the bar at the Roadhouse, mixing drinks for people who’d helped change my diapers.” When she laughed, the sound came out harsh and bitter.

Anna nodded. “I know how you feel,” she said. “I… lost my way, recently, and that’s how I ended up here. I hope that, here, I can find somewhere that I can stay.”

Jo smiled at her. “I hope you can, too.”

 

***

 

They made good time and were able to eat lunch at a cute little Italian restaurant in the city. Jo knew the owner so they got a discount on their meals and free gelato. Jo also insisted on paying.

“Come on, let me cover my meal; it’s next to nothing!” Anna protested.

“This entire meal, for both of us, cost half of what one plate would normally cost. Let me pay,” was Jo’s winning argument. Splitting seven dollars did sound kind of silly when it was put into perspective like that.

After eating, Jo drove them to the mall. It was nice weather that day, so Anna felt strange trying on and looking for a thick, winter jacket, but she knew she’d be grateful for having done this in the very near future.

Along with picking out a jacket, they went shopping for some normal clothing, too. Fuzzy pyjamas, plain shirts, jeans, and essentials. They ate dinner in the cafeteria and then threw their bags in the back of Jo’s truck and went looking for a hotel.

“Can we please not stay in a motel?” Anna begged. “A clean hotel. I’ll pay if you don’t want to.”

Jo rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what you take me for, but there was no way I’d make _you_ sleep on a motel bed.”

Anna felt a scowl make its way onto her features. “What does _that_ mean?”

The blonde shrugged. “You’re kinda… proper, you know that, right? I can’t imagine you ever slummin’ it.”

“I take offense to that,” Anna muttered, crossing her arms, feeling for every part like a petulant child. “That doesn’t mean I want to prove you wrong and sleep in a motel. We’re still getting a hotel. I just want you to know you’re wrong.”

“Yeah?” Jo asked, arching an eyebrow. “And how am I wrong?”

Anna lifted her chin proudly. “I’ve been camping.”

Jo looked at her sceptically. “In an RV?”

“In a tent,” Anna scoffed. “On the ground, with bugs and dirt and no running water for a week.”

“I’ll have to take you some time, then,” she remarked. “You’ll have to show me those survival skills of yours.”

 

***

 

They ended up at a traditional big-chain hotel, and Anna was pleased to see that they were identical in both America and Canada. Other than Dean, it was the first familiar thing she’d seen since her arrival in the Northern country.

“We don’t have any rooms with two queens left,” the desk attendant told them sadly. “However, if you two don’t mind sharing for a night, there is a room with a king-sized bed free.”

Jo looked at Anna, and they both shrugged at once. “Sure,” Jo told the man. “We’ll survive cuddling for a night.”

 

***

 

The room itself had an ugly carpet and uglier bed sheets. It smelt of bleach and an off-brand air freshener.

“Do you wanna shower first?” Jo asked, looking like she hoped the answer was no.

Anna shook her head. “You go ahead; I’m gonna put my new stuff in my luggage.”

“You’re the best.” Jo grabbed her pyjamas from her suitcase and shut the bathroom door behind her. It locked with a click that resounded through the room, leaving a light echo in its wake.

Jo exited the shower after about twenty minutes, followed by a puff of hot air, wringing her hair in a towel. She announced that it was Anna’s turn and flopped on the bed, claiming the side that was farther from the door.

Anna took her turn and when she got out, Jo was comfortably sitting with her back against the headboard, watching Say Yes to the Dress on the hotel TV.

“That show is terrible,” Anna said, sitting next to Jo and watching it despite her comment.

Jo made a noncommittal gesture. “Guilty pleasure,” she admitted. “I’ve never planned on getting married, but I like watching these types of shows anyway.”

“I almost got married. Once,” Anna admitted. “I never bought a dress, but I had one picked out.”

The blonde raised an eyebrow. “Really? Who was the lucky guy? And why don’t you have a fancy ring now?”

“There was no ‘lucky guy’,” Anna made air quotes around the term. “Her name was Ruby, and I got back to our apartment one night to find her in bed with Dean’s younger brother, Sam.”

Jo’s eyes opened almost comically. “ _Sam_? I’ve met the guy! I can’t believe he’d help someone cheat.”

Anna shrugged. “He didn’t know Ruby and I were together, let alone engaged. He thought we were just best friends and roommates, because that’s what she told him. He didn’t seem to notice the lack of second bedroom, but that’s what alcohol does to you.”

“How long ago was that?” Jo asked softly.

“About six months. It’s what lead me here, really.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Jo scooted slightly closer to Anna, bumping their shoulders together so that Anna would turn her head. When Anna did, Jo leaned forwards slightly and pressed her lips against the other girls. After only a surprised second of hesitation, Anna reached up to grip the back of Jo’s head and kissed her back. Jo’s hands came up to Anna’s neck, and she ran her fingers through her partner’s long, red hair, trying to find a better angle to deepen the kiss.

When they broke apart, all that could be heard between them was their heavy breathing and fashion advice pouring from the television set.

“I hope you find a way to fit in here,” Jo breathed, meeting Anna’s eyes with her own.

Anna felt a giddy smile form on her face. “I think I have.”

 

***

 

Nothing happened after the kiss, and Anna didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed. Yes, she found Jo very attractive, and would have been all for it if things had gone further, but she didn’t know if she was ready for a romantic attachment. Not so soon after Ruby. And she didn’t want to do that to Jo, not without both of them being clear from the start about what they wanted.

But now the horses were out of their stables, leaving neither of them room to say anything. It was too late to have that conversation, too late to turn back. She’d just have to keep going forwards and hope that no one got hurt.

They left after breakfast, and Anna had Jo drop her off at her apartment building.

“You live in Missouri’s place?” Jo asked, a mixture of shocked and confused.

Anna was just confused. “Yes. Why?”

Jo shook her head. “Nothing; it’s nothing. Missouri’s great. How do you like it?”

Anna shrugged. “It’s comfortable. My neighbour used to play loud music in the middle of the night, but they’ve stopped. I like it.”

“Alright, cool,” Jo nodded her head.

The teacher stepped out of the care, taking her suitcase with her. “I’ll… see you tomorrow?” she said, voice turning up at the end in her uncertainty.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll bring coffee.”

 

***

 

Jo was late the next afternoon. Anna was finished cleaning up, and left just standing in the middle of her classroom. After a few minutes, she stepped outside, locked up, and went to wait at the park bench. In the time she had, Anna worried. Was it going to be awkward, because of the kiss? They were grown women, Anna rationalized, and it was just a kiss. It didn’t have to mean anything if they didn’t want it to.

When Jo finally did show up, it was twenty minutes late and with a sheepish grin. “I had to wait for the pie to cool,” she explained, sitting down across from Anna. Unlike usual, their feet didn’t end up tangled under the table. Other than that, there are no indications that something had changed. Anna started to wonder if maybe she was the only one obsessing over the kiss – maybe nothing _had_ changed. It hadn’t meant anything, after all, she reminded herself. It was just a kiss.

“I’ll forgive you for fresh pie,” Anna said easily. “What kind?”

“Apple cinnamon; the best kind.”

Anna smiled. “I wouldn’t know.”

 

***

 

In the end, Anna agreed that apple cinnamon pie was, in fact, the best kind of pie that there was. She didn’t know if it was because of the skills of the baker, or if it was because when Jo got some filling smeared on her cheek, she had to reach across the table and wipe it off. After many failed attempts to communicate to Jo where the smudge was, of course.

She decided that it didn’t matter.

 

***

 

Things were easy, if a little bit awkward, between them for a week. And then Friday night rolled around and Dean decided that it was high time he get Anna drunk.

“What about the first week I was here?” Anna reminded him. “I’m done.”

Dean shook his head. “Nope. You’re getting drunk, and you’re telling me why you’re so… dark.”

Anna scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Like you’re one to talk about emotional openness. Really.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t tell when other people are upset.”

 “I guess that’s true,” Anna conceded, after a moment.

Dean grinned. “Good. That’s settled. The Roadhouse, at eight. Be there.” And then he was gone.

 

***

 

And so Anna was there, at eight sharp. Jo grinned and handed her a beer.

“Waiting on anyone?” she asked.

Anna smiled up at her. “Dean. He wants to get me drunk. I apologize in advance if I say or do anything… inappropriate.”

“I’ll cut you off and send you home if you start making other people mad,” Jo promised.

“Thank you.”

Anna was almost done her beer by the time Dean showed up, cheeks red and hair wind-swept.

“Tell me you weren’t late because you were making out with your boyfriend,” Anna warned.

Dean shrugged, a boyish grin shaping his features. “Sure, I can say that, if it makes you feel any better.” He looked at Jo and signalled for a beer to be brought around to him.

Anna groaned and put her head in her hands. “You _are_ incorrigible.”

The man sipped his beer, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I’ve been told so, yeah. Jo, can you get Anna another beer? She’s not drunk enough yet.”

Jo grinned and placed the beer in front of Anna, giving the other woman a wink. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Anna murmured, snatching up her beer and taking a swig. She’d need the luck.

 

***

 

“And then,” Anna laughed, interrupting herself. “And then he dumped glitter on the girls head!” she placed a hand against Dean’s shoulder to keep herself from falling over as she laughed.

Dean laughed too as he got off his chair and pulled her with him. “I think it’s time to go home,” he suggested. He looked over at Jo, who was still bartending – in between looking at them and laughing. “Can you take her home? I’m gonna crash with Cas.”

“Yeah, no problem. I’m off now, anyway,” Jo said, untying her apron and stashing it under the bar. She ducked into the back room and was back out before the door stopped swinging, pushing her arms through her jacket. “Go on to your boyfriend,” she told Dean, making a shooing motion. “I got this one.”

Dean made a suggestive gesture that no one could decipher and then laughed at all the confused looks he got before he left, ambling out into the street and walking towards the library.

Jo looked at Anna warily and took her arm, leading her towards the door. She grabbed Anna’s black pea coat off the hook and helped her get it on and did up all the buttons for her. “It’s cold out,” she muttered, smoothing her hands on Anna’s collar. Anna leaned into the touch, though it was gone within moments. Unlike the other time Jo had lead Anna home, this was awkward. Though Jo still held her arm around Anna’s waist, there was a distance between them. Anna didn’t dare sink against the other girls’ side, instead trying to keep her own two feet under her as much as possible. That led, instead, to more of her tripping over her own feet and Jo having to steady her.

The bartender helped Anna into the cab of her own truck. “I’ll drive you to pick up your car tomorrow,” she promised, even though she figured Anna wouldn’t remember their conversation in the morning.

Anna nodded in response to Jo’s words, and as soon as the passenger door was closed, she slumped against it. Her forehead was resting against the cool glass and she felt herself drift off. Jo got into the drivers’ side and turned on the heat as well as the radio, a heavy metal song bursting out too loud right away. She quickly turned the volume down and drove to Anna’s housing complex.

Jo turned off the radio when they got there, leaving the car running so they could keep the heat in. “Time to wake up, sleepyhead,” she murmured, shaking Anna lightly.

Anna made a noncommittal noise and unbuckled herself, stepping out of the car and stumbling forwards into the next car over. Jo rushed around and grabbed hold of her to steady her, pulling her gently out of the small gap between cars. “C’mon, let’s get you into bed.”

If Anna had been more aware of her surroundings, she would have wondered how Jo opened the apartment building’s door without taking her keys.

As they stepped into the elevator, Anna let herself lean on Jo. When they reached the top floor, Jo walked up to Anna’s door. “What pocket are your keys in?” she asked.

Anna reached into her pockets and made an obvious sound of displeasure. “Dean has them.”

Jo sighed. “Well, I guess it’s time you knew where I lived.” She turned them around and Anna expected to head back to the elevator, but Jo just took out a set of keys and unlocked 5A. “Sorry ‘bout never mentioning it. You can take the bed; I’ll sleep on the couch.” She took off Anna’s shoes and jacket at the door.

“You’re my neighbour?” Anna asked, mind catching up with the events.

The blonde nodded, not looking at Anna. “Yeah, sorry about the loud music. I didn’t know it was you.”

Anna followed Jo through the apartment and to the bedroom. “So.... you were giving me those notes?”

Again, Jo nodded. “Yup, that’s me.” She sounded on-edge about something, though Anna was in no state to be able to tell what that something _was_.

Jo sat her down on the bed and then stood by awkwardly. “Well, uh… I guess I’ll just let you… sleep, then. Goodnight.”

She turned to leave but Anna reached out and grabbed her wrist, almost falling off the bed in the process. “Stay here,” she asked. Jo looked conflicted, but after a few moments of internal debate, she decided that it was okay. She took off her socks and sweater and then, after another brief moment of debate, her jeans, and crawled into bed.

Observing the other girl, Anna removed her jeans as well and slipped into the space left next to Jo. She leaned forwards and placed a kiss on Jo’s cheek. “Thank you,” she said.

Jo laughed. “For what?”

Anna shrugged as best as she could while lying on her side. “I dunno. Ask me in the morning. Just thought I should say it.”

The blonde nodded, but didn’t verbally respond, and Anna was asleep within minutes.

 

***

 

When Anna woke up, she was alone. She tried not to be disappointed. Failed at that. And then decided that since she was alone, she could spread out on the bed. When she finally decided to open her eyes, she saw a glass of water and bottle of Tylenol on the nightstand. Sitting up, she gratefully took two with the water. It was another few minutes before she padded out into the main room, scooping up her jeans but not putting them on.

It was then that she smelt food, walking into the kitchen slowly and rubbing her eyes with the hand that wasn’t holding her pants. She saw Jo at the stove in a similar state of undress, her blonde hair looped back into an easy ponytail.

She grinned when she saw Anna walk into the room. “Good morning,” she said. Too cheerfully, in Anna’s opinion.

Anna offered her a nod in response, looking around the kitchen. “What are you doing?”

Jo shrugged. “Breakfast. Figured you might want something to eat.”

“What are you making?”

“Sausage, eggs, and toast.” Jo looked away from the pan and at Anna for a second. “Is that okay?”

Anna nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s fine.”

 

***

 

“You didn’t tell me why you thanked me, last night,” Jo pointed out, chewing a bite off her plate.

Anna felt heat rise in her cheeks and she looked down at her breakfast, poking at it with her fork. “I can’t remember why,” she lied.

Jo kicked her lightly under the table, like she did at the park all the time. It made Anna smile. “C’mon,” Jo said with a smile, trying to look at Anna’ eyes. “Why?”

Anna shrugged, spearing a piece of sausage on her fork and putting it in her mouth, chewing carefully. She didn’t look at Jo as she spoke. “For making me feel welcome, I guess. The notes you gave me really helped.”

The comment earned a smile. “Good,” she said, nodding down at her plate. “I’m glad.”

It was a silent moment before Jo stood up and leaned over the table, kissing Anna on the mouth. Surprised, Anna didn’t move for a minute, but just moments after she leaned into the kiss, Jo sat back down and resumed her breakfast like nothing had happened.

 

***

 

Since finding out that they were the sole occupants of the fifth floor of Missouri’s building, Anna and Jo took to leaving their doors unlocked. They still met at the park for lunch, but afterwards they both went back to the building and camped out in one or the other of their apartments for the few hours before Jo had to go to the Roadhouse.

And, more days than not, there was kissing.

Nothing more than that, and that was what confused Anna. Innocent, chaste kisses that she wouldn’t feel awkward sharing in front of her grandmother.

“I’m going insane,” she told Dean, sitting at a table in his coffee shop, head in her hands. “This is driving me crazy.”

Dean placed her coffee in front of her and she let go of her head to hold the cup, grateful for the warmth between her palms. He sat down across from her and twined his fingers together, placing them on the table in front of him. “Start from the beginning,” he told her.

And so she told him about the night they went out of town, and what had happened more recently. “Are we… dating now?” Anna asked, looking at Dean pleadingly like he’d have an answer.

In typical Dean Winchester fashion, however, he did not. He just shrugged. “You gotta ask her, I think. I have no idea what you guys are up to. And frankly I don’t want you to tell me.”

“Fair,” Anna murmured. “So, you, king of the emotionally repressed, think I should talk to someone who might be your reigning queen?”

“Jo is only a duchess of emotional repression,” Dean defended. “If you bring it up right, you should be golden. I say give it a shot, see what happens.”

 

***

 

Anna wanted to bring it up, she really did, but it was never the right time. The next time she saw Jo after the conversation with Dean was at seven the next morning when she woke up for work and found Jo in her bed, half under the covers with her face smashed into the pillow. Anna dropped a kiss into the blond mass of hair and got out of bed. Jo was only just waking up when Anna was leaving, though she was by no means out of bed.

“Can’t you just… abandon the toddlers and watch Disney movies with me?” Jo pleaded, looking at Anna with wide eyes.

The redhead laughed. “That would be unethical. Bring me coffee at lunch?”

Jo rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”

 

***

 

Anna realized just why the random kisses bothered her on a Saturday afternoon, sitting in a blanket fort she’d built with Jo like the large children that they were. Cinderella was playing on Anna’s ancient television set and they were both laughing at how they were acting.

She realized that this was the first time she’d felt carelessly happy with and because of another person since Ruby. She couldn’t say for sure that the feeling in the pit of her stomach was love, but it was happiness. And she knew that she couldn’t lose that again. So she leaned sideways and kissed Jo, quick and chaste like usual, and Jo didn’t ask, because that wasn’t something they did, and then they finished the movie.

Anna knew that she couldn’t let it happen again; not if she wanted to keep the friendship she had. Not if she wanted to keep her happiness.

 

***

 

It worked at first – she missed the casual kisses, but she felt better without them. She didn’t have any expectations when Jo wouldn’t just lean over and kiss her. And that was better. Anna told herself that that was better.

Only, of course, after only two days, Jo started to look at her funny. It wasn’t anything much, just looks of concern when she thought Anna wasn’t looking.

“Are you okay?” Jo asked one afternoon as they ate their picnic lunch.

Anna felt her eyebrows draw in. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

Jo bit her lip. “You’ve been… you know, distant. If something’s wrong, you can tell me.” She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there and then, having that conversation. Anna figured it was enough that Jo had initiated the conversation.

“I’m fine; don’t worry,” Anna said good-naturedly.

After a moment of hesitation, Jo reached across the table and covered Anna’s hands with one of hers. “If you, uh… if you wanna talk, we can,” she offered.

“About what?” Anna asked. “I’m fine; I told you.”

“Is this your way of, uh…” Jo bit her lip, trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say. “Breaking up with me?” she said eventually. She didn’t look at Anna as she spoke.

Anna felt her eyebrows raise. “You think I’m – what?”

“I know we never really talked about it, but you kissed me back so I just kinda assumed you were into it, even though we didn’t do much, but yeah. I just kinda… assumed. Sorry,” Jo babbled.

“Stop talking,” Anna told the other girl firmly, turning over her hands to cover the one that Jo had left on top of them. “You thought we were… dating?” she started.

Now Jo looked confused. “Weren’t we? God, I’m sorry; I just… I dunno, I assumed.”

“I didn’t think we were,” Anna admitted. “I just thought we were friends, doing things friends don’t do.”

“You don’t get out much, do you?” Jo teased.

Anna shrugged, shaking her head slightly. “Not really, no.”

They sat like that for a few moments and then Anna cleared her throat. “I was acting weird because… well, because I thought we were just friends, and I wanted…. Something else.”

Jo looked up at her, hopeful. “Should we… start again?” Jo asked. “Right here, no confusion?”

Anna smiled. “I’d like that, yeah.”

The kiss was awkward, with both of them leaning over the table at the same time, but if you asked either of them they’d say it was perfect.

 

**Epilogue**

 

“I hate you so much,” Anna muttered, turning her face into her small pillow and pulling her sleeping bag over her head.

Jo laughed. “You said you could tough out camping. First morning and you’re already giving up?”

Anna looked up at glared at her girlfriend. “I hate you so much,” she repeated.

“No you don’t,” Jo contested, reaching over and running her fingers through Anna’s hair.

She leaned into the touch. “No, I don’t,” she agreed. “Doesn’t mean I’m not mad at you.”

Jo threw up her hands as if in defeat. “You said you could tough out camping! Not my fault.”

“I was lying to impress you.”

“Then you should have told me while I was planning this trip.” Jo smirked.

“Can we go home?”

Jo rolled her eyes. “We have the spot for two more nights. C’mon, city girl; let’s go explore nature.”

Anna burrowed herself down into her sleeping bag. “No. Not before the sun is up.”

Though she couldn’t be sure, Anna thought that Jo rolled her eyes at that comment. “You’re lucky I love you,” Jo muttered, leaning over and kissing the top of Anna’s head.

“You’re the one who’s lucky,” Anna muttered.

“Yeah, I am.”


End file.
